I'd Prefer My Own Life, Thanks
by BrightWings111
Summary: Identical twins Ariel and Aranel know nothing of the other's existence until the day Loki is taken captive by S.H.I.E.L.D. When Loki's men get the two mixed up, one is left wondering if he really abandoned her while the other fears what would become of her if he finds out that she's not who he thinks she is. LokixOC


_Aranel POV_

"Kneel!" Loki yelled. Aranel closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She reminded herself why she was here, why she was watching him do this.

_He needs a firm hand,_ she reminded herself. _He needs someone who cares._ And she knew that person was her, and she would always be that person. She couldn't see herself ever giving up on him.

She watched the scene from above, having taken the form of a hawk and perched on the roof of a nearby building. She spread her wings and prepared to fly down and get him out of there when she saw Captain America arrive, but thought twice after a S.H.I.E.L.D. plane made its way there as well. There was no way she would be able to get him out of there and not get shot.

At least he realized he was outnumbered, but she couldn't stand to see him giving in to being captured like this. Of course, she also realized this was probably part of a plan. But still, she flew down to him and took her human form, standing defensively in front of him.

"Ariel?" Steve asked.

"I have no clue who that is," she replied, prepared to turn into something much more dangerous than a hawk to fight.

"Aranel, stand down," Loki said quietly behind her. "Let them take us."

She glanced behind her, "What are you talking about?"

"Stand down," he repeated. "Trust me." She reluctantly relaxed a little.

A bald eagle flew out of the S.H.I.E.L.D. plane and once it got to Steve, it turned into an exact replica of Aranel. She blinked a few times to make sure she was seeing right. The other girl seemed to be just as shocked at what Aranel looked like.

It was as if she was looking in a mirror. Aranel was staring right at her own unnaturally red hair and green eyes. This other girl was exactly the same height as her, held herself the same, had the same expression, and from what Aranel could tell, this other girl could shapeshift just the same.

Aranel was so shocked by what she saw, she couldn't bring herself to fight back at all as her hands were tied and she was forced onto the plane. She could have easily shifted to escape the ties and get her and Loki out of there, but he had told her to let this happen. He had a plan and she did trust him when he said he knew what he was doing.

During the plane ride, she and the other girl took the time to fully look each other over and try to figure out what was going on.

"Could you, you know, tell me what's happening here?" Tony asked. "Like why there are two Ariels?"

Aranel gave the arrogant billionaire a subtle glare, but didn't respond.

"Anyone?" he went on.

"Trust me, I'd like an answer more than anyone," the other girl – Ariel – said. Aranel kept her mouth shut. Ariel even sounded like her. Aranel was not liking this one bit, and she wanted to get out of this situation.

Lightning flashed brightly outside of the plane, causing Loki to jump and Aranel to stiffen.

"Scared of lightning?" Steve teased.

"I'm not fond of what comes after," Loki replied evenly as something crashed into the roof. Aranel jumped slightly and tensed up, ready to shift to defend herself if she needed.

Ariel apparently noticed this, as she told Aranel, "Don't think about shifting, I'll catch you."

Tony put on the suit and opened up the back of the plane, Thor landing in the opening. Loki's brother walked up to him and pulled him away from his seat and restraints before jumping out of the plane with him.

"Loki!" Aranel yelled as Tony followed them out. Steve began putting on a parachute to go after them as well.

"Do you want me to come too?" Ariel asked.

"No, stay here with the other one," he replied.

"Yes sir."

He jumped out of the plane with his parachute and the two girls went back to looking each other over. They made eye contact as they tried to figure each other out, and Aranel saw a maze of nothing in Ariel's eyes. It was a deep maze of feelings that were hidden, the way they would be for someone who followed orders and never voiced their own opinion. She could see already; Ariel was only a weapon for S.H.I.E.L.D. to order around and use whenever they wanted. She wouldn't question orders, only follow them to the best of her ability and further, not even knowing why she was doing what she was doing. Aranel couldn't imagine living a life like that.

After a minute of reading each other's eyes, Aranel looked down. She knew she was an open book; Ariel probably saw every little thing about her.

"Who are you?" she heard Ariel's voice ask quietly. She looked up to meet the other girl's gaze.

"It's none of your business who I am," Aranel replied softly.

"Not only are you working with Loki, but you also are an exact copy of me down to the shapeshifting," Ariel stated matter-of-factly. "So yes, it is my business who you are."

"I'm sorry, but it's not," Aranel repeated. "And I'm done talking about this." She ignored every other question Ariel threw at her up until Loki was returned to the plane by Steve, Tony, and Thor.

"Aranel," Thor said. "I see you're still Loki's lost puppy."

"Thor," Aranel replied evenly. "I see you're still a brainless brute."

"You dare speak to me like that?" Thor threatened, making her flinch slightly.

"You touch her, brother, and I swear-" Loki started.

"You'll what?" Thor challenged.

Loki opened his mouth to respond, but Aranel spoke first, "Don't, Loki. You'll make things worse." She turned her gaze to Thor. "And you can just stay away from me."

"I don't take orders from you," Thor responded.

"And now is a perfect time to shut this argument up before it gets more irritating," Tony cut in. "Ariel, do you have any idea what's going on?"

"No," Ariel sighed. "I don't know what's going on, and it's bugging me."

"Well, we'll find out later," he said. "For now, just, you three stop arguing, it's annoying." Aranel shot him a subtle glare once more, but did what he said as she wasn't in the mood to keep arguing with Loki's brother.

When the plane landed on the S.H.I.E.L.D. sky ship, Aranel and Loki were escorted off of the plane and into the ship. When Aranel's escorts started leading her in the opposite direction of Loki's, Aranel began to get uncomfortable.

"Wait," she said. "Wait, don't separate us." They didn't stop, but kept leading her away. "Wait, stop! You can't separate us!"

"Silence," she heard a threatening voice, and the escorts stopped walking so she did as well. A tall black man with an eyepatch and a long black coat was standing in the hallway, and he was intimidating. She was scared. "Ariel, tell me what's going on."

"I-I'm not Ariel," she stuttered. "My name's Aranel. Please, you can't separate us."

"You're the spitting image of one of our best agents," he replied. "I think separating you is exactly what we're gonna do right now."

"Please," she pleaded. "I'll do anything."

"You're gonna speak with Ariel is what you're gonna do," he said. "Then we'll decide from there, you hear me?" She hesitantly nodded and hung her head in defeat. As her escorts began leading her away from Loki once more, she looked back and made eye contact with him for the last time in who-knows-how-long.


End file.
